URGENT: Maine Cannabis License Revocation Notice? You Have 30 Days to Save Your Business
That letter from Maine's Office of Cannabis Policy isn't routine paperwork—it's a serious threat to your business. They want to revoke your license and impose substantial fines. Your employees need answers. Your business partners are concerned. Everything you've invested in this operation is at risk.
The critical fact: You have exactly 30 days to respond properly. Many cannabis operators make costly mistakes during this window that result in losing their businesses. Miss the deadline or respond incorrectly, and your options disappear.
However, licensees who handle these situations strategically often minimize the damage to their businesses and negotiate reduced penalties. The outcome depends entirely on how you respond in the next 30 days.
Here's your action plan.
What's at Stake: The Real Numbers
The penalties are severe and impact your business differently depending on the type of violation:
Medical caregivers with a store: Up to $7,500 per violation
Medical caregivers without a store: Up to $1,500 per violation
Adult-use licensees: Up to $20,000 per violation (reduced from $100,000 in 2024)
License suspension vs. revocation - key differences:
Suspension (up to one year): Cannot engage in most activities but can wind down processes and harvest existing plants. Crucially, your registration may be transferred to another qualified person to continue operations during the suspension period.
Revocation (up to one year): Must cease ALL activities completely - no transfers allowed, complete shutdown required. However, after the revocation period ends, your registration can be reauthorized without starting completely over.
What OCP doesn't advertise: Many enforcement actions settle for less than the maximum penalties—if you respond strategically.
Your Response Strategy
Immediate Action Required
Call an established cannabis attorney immediately. Not tomorrow. Not next week. Today.
Why the urgency? If you miss the 30-day window to request an administrative hearing, you lose all rights to appeal—including your right to go to Superior Court under Rule 80C. You can only appeal to Superior Court after exhausting all administrative appeals, which starts with requesting that initial hearing within 30 days. Miss this deadline, and even the best attorney can't help you.
Why experience matters: An established cannabis attorney knows the OCP staff, understands their enforcement priorities, and has handled similar cases before. They know which inspector issued your violation report, the state’s attorney who will handle your case, and the arguments that tend to work in settlements. This knowledge helps build the strongest possible defense, though outcomes always depend on the specific facts of your case.
What the Attorney Will Do
Analyze and Build Your Defense
Analyze the charges systematically. When issuing a license violation, OCP must provide notice and the opportunity for a hearing. OCP has significantly refined its enforcement procedures over the years, so procedural dismissals that were more common in early cannabis enforcement are now rare. However, experienced attorneys still review for any potential procedural issues that could strengthen your negotiating position.
Leverage attorney relationships: An experienced cannabis attorney has ongoing relationships with OCP enforcement staff. They understand how OCP's increasingly sophisticated enforcement process works and can identify the best strategies for your specific situation. While OCP's procedures have become more thorough over time, experienced counsel may still find opportunities to mitigate penalties through strategic negotiations.
Identify mitigating factors:
First-time violations often get better treatment
Factors legitimately beyond your control
Good faith compliance efforts with documented improvements
Immediate corrective actions taken after discovery of the violations
Note: OCP has a high bar for mitigating factors. Equipment failures might carry some weight, but personal circumstances (like selling to underage people because you’re distracted by a recent breakup) won't help your case. Focus on systemic issues and compliance improvements, not personal excuses or economic arguments.
Understanding the Appeals Process
If you decide to contest the violations, here's how the administrative appeals process works:
The Three-Step Appeals Process:
Request hearing within 30 days of receiving the revocation notice (miss this deadline and you lose all rights)
Pre-hearing conference where you inform the hearing officer of your case status and a formal hearing date is set
Formal hearing with evidence, witnesses, and legal arguments
Strategic note: If settlement discussions show promise, hearing dates can often be postponed to allow time for negotiations. Smart attorneys use the hearing request as leverage while pursuing settlement.
Reality check: Few revocations are actually overturned at hearings, making settlement the preferred strategy for most cases.
Your Three Options
You have three primary response options:
Option 1: Fight (Administrative Hearing)
Best when: Evidence is genuinely weak or significant procedural violations occurred
Risk: Higher legal costs, uncertain outcome, potential for maximum penalties
Reward: Possible penalty reduction, occasionally complete vindication (but rare)
Option 2: Negotiate (Settlement Agreement)
Best when: Some violations occurred
Risk: Admitting some fault
Reward: Possible reduced suspension time and penalties
Why this works: Settlement negotiations can continue even after requesting a hearing, and hearing dates can be postponed to allow for settlement discussions
Option 3: Surrender (Accept Penalties)
Best when: Never (almost always a mistake)
Risk: Maximum penalties, sets precedent for future violations
Reward: None
The Insider Advantage: Why Attorney Relationships Matter
OCP is a small office. The same Assistant Attorney General from the Maine Attorney General's office handles virtually all OCP enforcement cases—and established cannabis attorneys have developed long-standing professional relationships with this key decision-maker. Experienced attorneys know the OCP department heads personally.
An established cannabis attorney has worked with these people dozens of times and understands:
The AG's Office Connection: The Assistant Attorney General who represents OCP has extensive experience with cannabis cases. Experienced cannabis attorneys understand this person's approach to different types of violations and can structure arguments accordingly
Enforcement patterns: Which violations typically result in settlements vs. contested hearings
Procedural requirements: Common procedural mistakes that can strengthen a defense
Settlement approaches: How settlement negotiations typically progress in cannabis cases
Decision processes: How enforcement decisions are typically made and appealed
The Settlement Sweet Spot
Most smart operators settle, and experienced attorneys know how to get there:
The Attorney General relationship advantage: Because the same Assistant Attorney General handles most if not all OCP cases, experienced cannabis attorneys understand this person's approach to different types of violations and can tailor their arguments accordingly. Having worked on multiple cases together helps attorneys understand what information the AG's office needs to evaluate settlement proposals fairly and present them to OCP decision-makers.
When your attorney has experience with cannabis enforcement cases, they understand:
How to present mitigating evidence effectively
What types of compliance improvements the OCP values
How to structure settlement proposals that address the state's concerns
The realistic range of outcomes for different types of violations
Lower legal fees than full hearings
Negotiation leverage:
Clean compliance history
Immediate corrective actions taken upon discovery
Comprehensive compliance improvement plans
Admission and correction: Sometimes OCP will be more lenient if you admit to wrongdoing and present a comprehensive correction plan
Critical Mistakes That Kill Cases
Ignoring the notice (forfeit all rights)
Continuing violations during proceedings (proves you don't take compliance seriously)
Going without experienced counsel (OCP has lawyers; you need them too)
Assuming you can't win (many cases are settled for suspensions rather than revocations and reduced ines)
The Bottom Line
Cannabis enforcement in Maine isn't going away—it's getting more sophisticated. But operators who handle enforcement strategically often emerge stronger, with better compliance systems and maintained licenses.
The choice is yours:
Panic and lose your license
Or fight smart and save your business
You have 30 days. What's it going to be?
This analysis should not be considered legal advice for your specific situation.